A Cultural History of Peace in the Medieval Age

The Middle Ages are commonly associated with war and mayhem rather than with images of peace. To be sure, in the long era (c.800-1450) from Charlemagne to the end of the Hundred Years' War, the powers of the state were often insufficient to fully secure public order, and the instruments of justice sometimes tolerated vengeance that triggered further violence. Even so, this book argues peace was a highly valued good throughout the period. Individual and social groups of all ranks adopted practices of peace to achieve and protect it: high nobles, religious men and women, urban dwellers and lowly peasants, all of them engaged in associations to forge consensus, cooperation, and resolution of conflicts. In an age where faith dominated public ideology, religious belief recognized peace as the highest ideal, and the use of violence to compel religious conversion was subject to limitations--at least in theory. Without idealizing the medieval past, this volume critically assesses research based on archives and manuscripts from the era, revealing formal and informal peace-makers largely unknown to the modern world.